Black holes, LHC, Star Wars, quantum uncertainty… if it is of general geek interest, but doesn’t fit into one of the other categories, it lands here.
AI in 2024: Debunking Misconceptions and Predicting the Future of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence as a term conjures up all kinds of science fiction images for most people. Colossus, Terminator, HAL 9000, the Matrix: most of the stories are tales of man’s hubris as a ‘creator’ turning against him.
These are all interesting cautionary tales. And advances in the field of artificial intelligence over the last few years have been amazing. But are we really on the verge of ‘the singularity’? Will our creations become smarter than us and then turn against us? Are these the end times, just before our robot overlords arise?
(more…)
Windows 11 and new computer weirdness
I’m configuring a new PC for Irene. I’d love to move her to macOS, but she has too much ‘history’ with Windows. So I went with this:
A neat little computer- the Msecore machines have a good reputation as a ‘no-name’ brand. But there was definitely some strangeness in setting it up, which ultimately I blame on Windows 11 and its ‘secure BIOS’ technologies.
(more…)
Server updates- A Good Thing™
So I heard there were some updates for my web server OS, so I updated the updates so I could update. Yikes what a pleasure- but this would probably be easier if I did it more than once a year or so. Or not.
I decided to document a bit about what I needed to do to go from Fedora 25 to Fedora 34, with a few side trips into Apache (HTTP) issues around Fedora 33.
(more…)Secretlab’s Titan: Because sitting is important…
I have been uncomfortable in my office chair for a year or so. It was a perfectly nice ‘executive style’ chair, but not long after the warranty ran out a couple of years ago it started to ‘list’ to one side by about 10 degrees. This abnormal sitting position was accompanied by a ‘rocking’ from side to side: I looked at the mechanism, and found that a bearing hole in a metal plate that was supposed to be round had become oblong due to wear.
So I started looking around for a replacement. After some trepidation, I decided to opt for a ‘gaming’ chair: yes, I’m a gamer, but I’m not a tech-bro “Gamer”, so choosing one of the iconic clique-indicators of this tribe for my home seemed a bit wrong. Specifically I started looking at the products made by Secretlab, and specifically their Titan model.
Adding an e-Bike to the garage
It has been snowing a lot here in Cloverdale the past week or so. This naturally leads me to start thinking about Spring, from which follows feeling out of shape, and somehow mumbly-jibbly-brain stuff bicycling.
Bicycling is something I used to do out of necessity. From about six years of age, I always had a bike: and from about 15 onward, including that time I failed to get a motorcycle license when I was 18 or so, I ended up using said bike to get to places I wanted to go without having to use a bus. At times, I rode a lot: hundreds of kilometres a season, which it bears mentioning was a rather short season as I was living in Edmonton at the time. I used to like riding a bicycle quite a lot, actually: like riding a motorcycle, it was a mentally ‘focused’ process that led to a kind of zen state when I was in decent shape so that the mechanics of riding weren’t to physically challenging.
NOT AN EBIKE- Similar model to the bicycle I bought in 2015: same brand (Achielle)
A few years back with those memories in mind I bought a ‘city’ bike with the idea that I could use it to enjoy being outside a bit and get back into shape. What I didn’t count on was just how incredibly out of shape I was/am. I carry a good 40-60 pounds of ‘excess’ weight: pure fat. And that bike darn near broke my heart: I couldn’t make it up any of the hills in my neighbourhood. And one day trying to ride along while Irene (my wife) rode her horse was a complete impossibility. I ended up getting off the bike that day and never getting back on. So why am I buying a bike again this year? Read on…
Moving some of my posting activity from Facebook back to blog
I am going to start posting more on my blog, and a little less on Facebook: or at least that’s my intent. Why? Because Facebook owns a bit too much…
Improving the performance of WordPress: my experiences
I recently upgraded my web server hardware and so, in that spirit, it seemed like a good time to refresh the configuration of my blog software. I had previously made several attempts to ‘make it fast’, but with only limited improvement. This time, however, I seem to have made some good progress… read below the fold for some details of my effort.
Virtual Reality- still not fully baked
Apparently this is the year of VR or virtual reality. The Oculus Rift can now actually be purchased by normal (non-developer) user. The Valve/HTC Vive is available as well, and Sony’s ‘Morpheus’ PlayStation VR product is supposedly coming very soon.
This isn’t a review of any of these products, but rather my opinion regarding the current state and potential of VR…
Domain name search registration scam
I registered a new domain name yesterday: geekonaharley.org. My current vague plan is to move my motorcycle-related posts from here to the new blog in an effort to make the ‘eclectic’ nature of my posts slightly less so. I.e.: people interested in my motorbike related posts won’t get any cat or politics related posts mixed in.
But that isn’t what this post is about. Instead it is about the scam email that arrived in my email inbox today, the day after registering my new domain.
